Scarlet fever: exploring our fascination, revulsion with blood

In medieval Europe, blood was a fascination; frightening, powerful, mysterious. Centuries later, the bright red liquid pulsing through our bodies continues to spark extreme reactions, especially when it’s depicted in art, movies, or even sneakers.

The new exhibit at Los Angeles’s J. Paul Getty Museum,Blood: Medieval/Modern, draws connections between those two time periods and how our concepts of this bodily fluid have — and have not — evolved. Much of the exhibition focuses on how Medieval artists, writers, and religious leaders thought of blood, especially in the context of Christianity and Jesus Christ. Aside from the many pieces of art that showcased Christ’s wounds, the Middle Ages also produced much “medical discourse” about blood, according to Getty curators, “ranging from the practical treatment of disease through blood analysis, bloodletting as a cure, menstruations, and a growing understanding of the human circulatory system.”

Blood: Medieval/Modern also looks at contemporary depictions of blood, including when modern artists and tastemakers use it to make points about feminism, DNA, and HIV and AIDS. Included in the exhibit are works by legendary artists Catherine Opie, Andres Serrano, and Nan Goldin, as well as art collective MSCHF, which helped create the so-called “Satan Shoes” promoted by out rapper Lil Nas X in 2021 and containing a drop of human blood (the $1,018 shoes sold out in less than a minute).

New York-based artist Jordan Eagles is also featured prominently in the Getty exhibit; the artist has been making art centered on the blood of gay and bisexual men for decades, hoping to draw attention to HIV panic and the U.S. government’s discrimination on blood donations from this marginalized group. Featured in Blood: Medieval/Modern is Eagles’s “Queer Blood America” from 2021, a thought-provoking work depicting a vial of a gay man’s blood placed over the cover of a Captain America comic book from the early days of AIDS; crumpled up surgical gloves surround the image. A pop-up installation of Eagles’, “Illuminations,” also appeared at the Getty in early March. The resin panels of “Illumination” contain blood donated from LGBTQ+ people, some on PrEP and others living with HIV but undetectable, with comic book images laid over the blood and projectors turning the whole installation a foreboding red.

“Current blood donation policies are biased and contribute to preventing full equality for the LBGTQI+ community and my work addresses these issues by confronting the inherent discrimination and stigma,” Eagles tells Plus (the Food and Drug Administration removed restrictions on blood donations for gay and bisexual men in monogamous relationships last year, but still makes individuals who’ve had anal sex with new partners or more than one partner wait to donate blood).

“In the work ‘Queer Blood America,’ which is included in the exhibition, Blood: Medieval/Modern, and the installation ‘Illuminations,’ both utilize vintage comic book images with narratives that relate to blood and/or HIV/AIDS, paired with blood donated by members of the LGBTQI+ community, creating new entry points to examine these biased policies,” Eagles adds. “By integrating the blood of an individual who is HIV+ and undetectable, and a gay man on PrEP, I want to highlight how the tragic or dated storylines of these comics from the ’70s, ’80’s and ’90s would be very different, if not irrelevant, today because of the progress in science, treatment, and prevention.”

Blood: Medieval/Modern, curated by Larisa Grollenmond, is on display at the Getty until May 19. Go to getty.edu for more information.

Queer Blood America by Jordan Eagles, courtesy J. Paul Getty Museum

Illuminations by Jordan Eagles, courtesy J. Paul Getty Museum

Illuminations by Jordan Eagles, courtesy J. Paul Getty Museum

"Satan Shoes" box by MSCHF, courtesy J. Paul Getty Museum

"Satan Shoes" by MSCHF, courtesy J. Paul Getty Museum

"Satan Shoes" by MSCHF, courtesy J. Paul Getty Museum

Ecce Homo, from Poncher Hours, by French artist Jean Pichore, made around 1500 A.D., courtesy J. Paul Getty Museum

The Execution of Philotas, from Book of the Deeds of Alexander the Great, made around 1470-1475 A.D., courtesy J. Paul Getty Museum